Jewish Wisdom and Depression

Robin Williams & depression

Shocked to learn of robin william’s death
Brought so much joy
I think of “mrs doubtfire,” a truly harmless character,
father who just wanted to see his children
he was a father, and also a giving person, who once spent the day with a girl dying of cancer
hard to believe he was depressed

turns out: manic depressive,
alcohol, which people often use to self-medicate mental illness
he was an overworker, which can also be a way of avoiding the perceived pain of one’s life
perhaps even comedy was a way of coping with depression—
comics often have mental illness
Robin Williams himself said comedy was a depress against fears.
reminiscent of the greek god Dionysus, who had 2 faces, one crying and one laughing
Dionysus was the god of wine, which can bring both laughter and tragedy
Reflects also the two extremes of human experience

It turns out: there are scientific studies claiming that religion can help with depression
Not talking about extreme depression, which may be a different ballgame
One study out of Columbia u followed a group for 10 years, and divided them between children of depressed and non-depressed parents. It turned out that the students who reported that “religion or spirituality was highly important to them had about one-fourth the risk of experiencing major depression between years 10 and 20 compared with other participants.” But [I have to be totally honest here] it Bible-thumping church goers who had this reduced risk. Neither the amount of attendance to religious services, nor the specific religious identity, predicted the outcome. The protection against depression was strongest in children of depressed parents.
Another study out of Wayne State University has demonstrated that even people suffering from traumatic brain injuries have been helped specifically by their faith. A definite correlation exists between those who are self-reported as having religious beliefs or seeing themselves as Spiritual (a connection to a Higher Power) and better emotional and physical rehabilitation outcomes!
A third study out of Columbia and published in JAMA Psychiatry claimed that regular spiritual practice thickens the brain cortex!
Admittedly, there are also studies claiming it does not help. A british study in “psychological medicine” actually claims that being religious predisposes people toward major depression!
Why might religion help?
Michael Govan has suggested:
God is seen as a power to get us out of depression when we can’t
Religion brings us into community, so we are no longer isolated
People are inspired by sacred texts about heroes overcoming obstacles

This morning: is there specific jewish wisdom that can help us when we’re depressed?
1. Positive sense of who I am, which the daily prayers are designed to reinforce
a. The belief that I am perfect exactly how god has made me, I am a pure soul
b. I have a mission
i. To face challenges I encounter. Every day is a spiritual test.
c. Gratitude for exactly what I have been given, belief I have been given the right things to accomplish that task, and a sense of pride in that task
Tanya ch 31: Paradoxically then, depression contains the key to its own demise. It can be fought in Kung Fu fashion, using its own power against it. Depression argues that you’re a worthless, hopeless scum in whom nobody would ever take interest. So agree with it. Tell it back, “You’re absolutely right. I’m even less than that. I was created with a purpose that I have not lived up to. I’ve messed up again and again. And yet, nevertheless, I have a G d who has put up with me despite all my failures, who continues to ask me to be His agent in His world, eagerly awaiting my mitzvahs, looking forward to me sharing my concerns with Him three times a day. My purpose still lies before me, and whatever of it I can fulfill, even for a moment, is worth more than all the pleasures of the Garden of Eden.”
There is a tale about the Chabad rebbe:
The Rebbe looked at the young man standing before him and said, “A Jew has to serve G d with happiness!”
The young man replied, “Rebbe, what is there for me to be celebrate?”
“Celebrate about the mitzvahs that you do!”
The young man paused. “Rebbe, I haven’t done any mitzvahs for a long time.”
“Then celebrate that you have a G d who waits every moment for your mitzvahs!”
Against such an argument, depression has nothing left to say. We call this “transforming darkness to light.” When light pushes away darkness, darkness only waits in the corners for its time to return. But when the darkness itself is transformed to light, it is a light that no darkness can oppose.
d. Daily prayer reinforces this identity
i. Elohai neshamah: my soul is pure, I can feel good about myself. I am beautiful and holy at my core
ii. Birkot hashachar: gratitude for everything I’ve been given
iii. Shema: reminds me that I work for god, and my task today is to find the opportunities to “love god when I walk on the way and when I sit at home”—i.e. to bring holiness and repair into every moment
iv. Amida & aleynu remind me that my mission is to bring repair to the world.
1. “rebuild Jerusalem”-may I be instrumental in bringing messianic repair
2. Aleynu: letaken olam
v. In the amida: we pray honen hada’at—may every encounter teach me how to serve you
vi. The very act of davenning is starting my day serving god, and feeling good about serving god


Conclusion: As a practice, always be enthusiastic.
1st line of shulchan aruch: yitgaber c’ari; value of zerizut-enthusiasm.
talmud: ein omdim- we can’t serve god out of sadness,
so we try to do every mitzvah with enthusiasm
from the moment we get up until we go to bed, we should be enthusiastic about fulfilling our mission for the day

I knew a shaliach tzibbur, who sometimes when there was no minyan would start davenning by saying “we have no choice, we must davven”.
What a depressing way to approach god!
Zerizut, enthusiasm, is to say, great, now we can commune with our maker!

Hasidim: depression is a bad yetzer taking me away from serving god—
Sefer Tanya ch 26: “ every mitzvah must be done with joy, every prayer with song and every word of Torah studied with enthusiasm—not just because without that joyful enthusiasm, you are simply not there within that mitzvah, but because without joy, the Jew lives in a precarious state. “Because you didn’t serve G d your G d with joy and a good heart…and so you will serve your enemies.” Meaning: When a Jew acts as a Jew but with a heavy heart, he is fair game for the enemy within—the urges and passions of his animal soul.”
We need to ignore it

Rebbe Nahman (who some claim was bipolar)): Mitzvah gedolah lihyot besimha tamid
use niggunim, jokes, anything, even pretending to be happy
so we have the energy to bring healing into the world and to serve those around us.